RESEARCH ARTICLE Mapping and Modelling the Geographical Distribution and Environmental Limits of

Background Ethiopia is assumed to have the highest burden of podoconiosis globally, but the geographi-cal distribution and environmental limits and correlates are yet to be fully investigated. In this paper we use data from a nationwide survey to address these issues. Methodology Our analyses are based on data arising from the integrated mapping of podoconiosis and lymphatic filariasis (LF) conducted in 2013, supplemented by data from an earlier mapping of LF in western Ethiopia in 2008–2010. The integrated mapping usedworeda (district) health offices ’ reports of podoconiosis and LF to guide selection of survey sites. A suite of environmental and climatic data and boosted regression tree (BRT) modelling was used to investigate environmental limits and predict the probability of podoconiosis occurrence